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WINTER LECTURE PROGRAMME 2011/2012 Lectures are held in the William Smith Building, Keele University Thursday 12th January at 19:30 ‘Ediacara: The Evolution of Earth's first complex life’ Speaker: Dr Michael Montenari (Keele University) Optional meal at 18:00 in Comus Restaurant (01782 734121). Please make your own booking with the restaurant mentioning that you wish to join the NSGGA party. Approximately £9.
Thursday 8th March at 19:00 AGM & Chairman’s Address: ‘The Statfjord Field’ Speaker: David Osborn There is no meal scheduled before this talk.
Thursday March 29 at 19:30 ‘Magma chambers: Where are they and for how long?’ Speaker: Dr. Catherine Annen (Bristol University) A buffet meal including sherry and wine is available before this talk for £10.50 Please complete & return the flyer at the end of the bulletin before March 9 or see Brenda Kay at the AGM meeting. Sherry reception at 18:00, buffet at 18:30. [Note change from original talk]
Bulletin of the North Staffordshire Group of the Geologists’ Association
Number 100 : January 2012
Image: National Museum of Natural History, courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution
Image: Jarvin Jarle Vines / Wikimedia
Image: Barry Voight / NSF
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January 2012
The Local Groups Meeting of the GA and the Festival of Geology David and Janet Osborn attended Burlington House on 4th November 2011 to attend the annual local groups meeting. The meeting was chaired by the GA president, David
Bridgland. Under discussion was the continued effort to make the GA more relevant to those outside the London area. It was felt that this had been a partial success with a presence at the Three Counties Show at Malvern and meetings in Birmingham and Gloucester. A two-day meeting will take place in Exeter on 13 - 14 October 2012 entitled ‘Rivers through Geological Time’. The forthcoming president also expressed a hope that he would be able to travel to meet all the regional groups.
There is a threat to the continued publication of Earth Heritage due to government cuts in funding. It was hoped that GA would be able to support future publication possibly in an electronic form though it may not be of such a high production standard as at present. Concern was also raised about the changes to Geoconservation particularly that SSSI status did not give a right of access.
The following day we attended the GA Festival of Geology at UCL. This was a number of stalls manned by local groups and other organisations with geological interests. Rockwatch had a room that had activities for younger enthusiasts. There were also a number of lectures and the following day a couple of field trips around London. The opportunity occurred to meet some old friends and make new contacts within other groups with the possibility that we may be able to arrange future field trips/lectures. The winners of the GA photographic competition were announced.
Janet & David Osborn
Bulletin 100 To commemorate the one hundredth NSGGA Bulletin, on the following pages are a facsimile of NSGGA Bulletin Number 1 from April 1987. The Bulletin Editor at the time, Don Steward, who produced the first 84 editions over a period of 21 years, tells me that it was produced on an Apple IIe computer with 64 kilobytes of built-in RAM [random access memory] and a 6502 microprocessor running at 1 MHz. For comparison, Bulletin 100 is compiled on a Dell Precision T1500 with 125,000 times more memory (8 Gb) and an Intel Core i7 processor running 2,930 times faster.
Ian Stimpson: Bulletin Editor
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NSGGA News If you haven't renewed your 2012 subscription yet, please do so as soon as possible using the form at the end of the bulletin. At the March AGM we shall be electing the committee for 2012/13. If you are interested in standing for any position then please contact the chairman, David Osborn, before the committee meeting on January 19. We are in urgent need of a Field Secretary and my term as vice-chairman comes to an end in March. Please note that the person elected to vice-chair will serve as chair in 2013/14 & 2014/15 and vice-chair again in 2015/16.
Ian Stimpson
Geoconservation News NSGGA members may not be aware of the consequences of not-so-recent government cutbacks at the Joint Nature Conservancy Council. Publication of the internationally important volumes of the Geoconservation Review series has been rescued, largely funded by the Geologists' Association and issued as parts of the Proceedings. The Marine Devonian of Great Britain is the first volume under the GA, as PGA Volume 122, Issue 4, October 2011. PGA Volume 122, Issue 5, November 2011 is a Special Issue on the Geological History of the Isle of Wight, arising from the British Geological Survey's Isle of Wight Integrated Project. A new 1:50,000 scale Geological Special Sheet and Explanation booklet are due later. Go to www.geologistsassociation.org.uk for membership details. For purchases click on "Proceedings" and follow the links to the publishers, Elsevier. Earth Heritage Magazine is now all-electronic. Go to www.earthheritage.org.uk to download recent issues and sign up for future mailings. The GeoConservationUK Newsletter is also available. E-mail the Editor, Tom Hose, at: [email protected]
John Reynolds
Miry Quarry Site Clearance Event GeoConservation Staffordshire is planning a site clearance event at Miry Quarry, Apedale Country Park on Sunday, March 18. NSGGA members are welcome to help out but numbers are strictly limited. To express an interest in being involved please contact Pat Cossey preferably by email ([email protected]) by Friday, March 2.
Ian Stimpson
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January 2012
Other Societies Black Country Geological Society Lectures at Dudley Museum & Art Gallery, St James's Road, Dudley Monday 23 January @ 20:00 'The geology and geoarchaeology of Jordan'
by Dr. John Powell (British Geological Survey) Saturday 28 January @ 10.00 (Field Meeting) Visit to Coln Quarry and other
Cotwolds quarries for a day of fossil hunting led by Neville Hollingsworth – see website for more details.
Monday 20 February @ 20:00 'Turning up the heat on Snowball Earth' by Prof. Ian Fairchild (University of Birmingham).
Sunday 4 March @ 10.00 (Field Meeting) Exploring the geology around Stourbridge led by Alan Cutler. – see website for more details.
Monday 19 March @ 19:30 AGM & 'The Permafrost' by Dr. Richard Waller (University of Keele)
Monday 23 April @ 20:00 'Midges, Ticks and Smelly Goats: Exploring the Geology and Earth Heritage of the Palaeogene Staffa Lava Formation, Isle of Mull'. by Dr Ian Williamson (formerly British Geological Survey & Natural England)
More details at www.bcgs.info East Midlands Geological Society Lectures in room B3, Biology Building of the University of Nottingham Saturday 14 January @ 18:00 'The Devensian glaciation of North-East England'
by Tony Cooper (British Geological Survey) Saturday 11 February @ 18:00 'Australia's Mineral Wealth' by Tim Colman Saturday 10 March @ 18:30 (After AGM) 'New Zealand's Earthquakes'
by Ian Sutton More details at www.emgs.org.uk East Midlands Regional Group of the Geological Society Thursday 19 January (after AGM) African Water Supply by Alan MacDonald
(BGS) and Graham Bradley. At Loughborough University. See website for details of other meetings.
More details at www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/groups/regional/emrg
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January 2012
Liverpool Geological Society Meetings are held in the James Parsons Building, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street Campus at 7.30 pm in Lecture Theatre 137 Tuesday 17 January 'The Geology of Ardnamurchan' by Jeff Harris Tuesday 7 February The Distinguished Member's Address by Professor
Tony Harris. Tuesday 21 February Practical Session on Brachiopods with Joe Crossley. Tuesday 6 March 'The Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice
Age' by Professor James Scourse Saturday 10 March Rock Around William Brown Street with Joe Crossley
& Hazel Clark. Tuesday 20 March Distinguished Visitor's Address by Professor Peter
Styles (Keele University). Saturday 31 March Rock Around Wirral with Hilary Davies. More details at liverpoolgeologicalsociety.org.uk Manchester Geological Association Lectures at the Williamson Building, University of Manchester Saturday 14 January @ 13:30 The Fossil Hunters:
'Mary Anning (1799-1847) and Thomas Hawkins (1810-1889) by Prof Hugh Torrens, University of Keele 'James Powrie' by Bob Davidson, University of Aberdeen 'James Frederick Jackson (1894-1966)' by Dr. Cindy Howells, National Museum of Wales
Wednesday 15 February @ 19.00 AGM followed by Presidential Address by Dr. Tony Adams, University of Manchester
Wednesday 7 March @ 18:30 'Natural Hazards in the Caribbean: Causes and Impacts' by Dr. Servel Miller, University of Chester
More Details at www.mangeolassoc.org.uk North West Regional Group of the Geological Society Thursday 23 February @ 18:30 'The Geomicrobiology of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle'
by Prof. Jon Lloyd (University of Manchester) at Williamson Building, University of Manchester
Thursday 22 March @ 18:30 'Earthquakes, Volcanoes and God: Theological Perspectives on Natural Disasters' by Rev. Dr. David Chester (University of Liverpool at University of Liverpool (venue to be confirmed).
Thursday 19 April @ 18:30 'Geohazards in the UK' by Prof. Martin Culshaw, (University of Birmingham) at Williamson Building, University of Manchester
More details at www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/groups/regional/nwrg
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January 2012
Shropshire Geological Society Lectures in the Shire Hall, Shrewsbury Wednesday 11 January @ 19.30 'Impacts of the Volcanic Eruption in Iceland 2010'
by Dr Andy Russell (Newcastle University) Wednesday 8 February @ 19.30 'My House fell in a hole: soluble rock geohazards -
and the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland' by Dr Tony Cooper (British Geological Survey)
Wednesday 14 March @ 19.30 'Mineralization in the Triassic rocks in the Cheshire Basin, mainly at Alderley Edge, but with a little about occurrences nearer Shrewsbury, around Clive' by (Geoff Warrington)
More details at www.shropshiregeology.org.uk/SGS/SGSintro.html Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group Wednesday 18 January @ 19.30 A mathematician looks at Geology and Landscape
by Professor Ian Stewart (University of Warwick) at Jubilee House, Kenilworth.
Wednesday 15 February @ 19.30 The Origin of Our Species by Professor Chris Stringer (Natural History Museum) at The Studio, Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa
Wednesday 21 March @ 19.30 The mineralogy of Scotland, a personal view by Roy Starkey (Russell Society) at Jubilee House, Kenilworth.
Wednesday 18 April @ 19.30 Coal Forests and Climate Change by Dr. Howard Falcon-Lang (University of London) at The Studio, Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa
More details at www.wgcg.co.uk West Midlands Regional Group of the Geological Society More details at www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/groups/regional/wmrg Western Institute of Mining and Minerals Lectures at the William Smith Building, Keele University Monday 9 January @ 19:00 'Where there’s muck there’s brass? Anaerobic
Digestion Plants' by David Oliver (NIFES Consulting)
Monday 6 February @ 19:00 'Surface Coal : Planning Issues At Minorca, Leicestershire' by David Bridgewood (Wardell Armstrong LLP)
Monday 5 March @ 19:00 To be confirmed. Monday 26 March @ 19:00 Failures and Hazards Affecting Natural Slopes and
Excavations – Case Studies by Ian Nettleton (Coffey Geotechnics UK Ltd)
More details at www.iom3.org/wimm
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January 2012
NSGGA - Next Committee Meeting: Thursday 19 January @ 19:00 In F34, the William Smith Building, Keele University
Contacts List: NSGGA Committee 2011-12 Chairman: David Osborn
Stretton, 2 Croyde Place, Meir Park, Stoke-on-Trent, ST3 7XD. Tel 01782 396692 email: [email protected]
Vice-Chairman: Dr Ian Stimpson 24 Sorrell Gardens, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 3FA Tel. 07779 083243 e-mail; [email protected]
General Secretary: Eileen Fraser, 47 Longdown Road, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 4QH Tel. 01260 271505 email: [email protected]
Treasurer: Brenda Kay, 9 Copthorne Drive, Audlem, Crewe, Cheshire, CW3 0EQ Tel. 01270 811650 email: [email protected]
Membership Sec.: Gerald Ford, Woodville, Tower Road, Ashley Heath, Market Drayton, Shropshire TF9 4PU Tel. 01630 673409 e-mail: [email protected]
Speakers Sec: Diane Lawrence, 9 Brickfield Close, Hixon, Stafford, ST18 0NY Tel. 01889 207195 e-mail: [email protected]
Field Sec.: Vacant GeoConservation Staffordshire Liaison Officer: Dr Ian Stimpson,
24 Sorrell Gardens, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 3FA Tel. 07779 083243 e-mail; [email protected]
Bulletin Sec.: Dr Ian Stimpson, 24 Sorrell Gardens, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 3FA Tel. 07779 083243 e-mail; [email protected]
Executive Committee (honorary): Dr. Colin Exley; Terry Jones; David Thompson; Ted Watkin.
Honorary Life Member: Ann Myatt Executive Committee (elected):
Dr Lloyd Boardman; Dr Stuart Egan; Carol Fereday; Mike Fereday; Dr Peter Floyd; Janet Osborn (Minutes Secretary); Vicky Tunstall (John Myers Awards);
Executive Committee (co-opted): Don Steward, John Reynolds; Michael Kelly (Keele GeoSoc).
NSGGA web pages: www.esci.keele.ac.uk/nsgga
Produced for the NSGGA by Ian G. Stimpson, Geography, Geology and the Environment, Keele University, Staffs, ST5 5BG
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January 2012
Buffet & Sherry Reception Booking Form
Thursday, March 29, 2012 A two-course sit down buffet meal will precede the talk
'Volcanoes and Society' given by Prof. Steve Sparks The cost is £10.50 including a glass of sherry and a glass of wine. The sherry reception will start at 18:00 and the buffet will start at 18:30 in the William Smith Building, Earth Sciences & Geography, Keele University. If you would like to attend, please return the booking form below with payment (which needs to arrive before Friday March 9, 2012) to:
Brenda Kay, 9 Copthorne Drive, Audlem, Crewe, Cheshire, CW3 0EQ Tel. 01270 811650 Early booking is essential, as numbers have to be pre-booked with the caterer To book a meal, please enclose a cheque (payable to NSGGA) for the full amount I/We would like to book ____ places for the Buffet on Thursday, March 29, 2012 I/We enclose a cheque for £ _______ payable to NSGGA Name/s Address Telephone
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January 2012
NSGGA Membership Form 2011/2012
Fossils, Rocks & Minerals Summer Field-Trips Winter Talks Site Conservation Regular Newsletters Name
Address Postcode Telephone e-mail address Would you be willing to receive your Bulletins by e-mail yes no Ordinary (Full) £13.00 Family * £15.00 Retired/Unemployed £10.00 Student ** £ 3.00
John Myers Award Fund*** contribution of £ _____ * For insurance purposes, please list the names of all members of the household to be included: ** Students please name your full-time course: Cheques should be made payable to the: "NSGGA" and sent to: Gerald Ford, NSGGA Membership Secretary, Woodville, Tower Road, Ashley Heath, Market Drayton, Shropshire TF9 4PU Telephone 01630-673409 e-mail [email protected] For our records, are you currently a member of the national GA ? yes no *** Two John Myers Awards (together with runners up) are presented annually to students at Keele University. John Myers gave a 60-year contribution to the understanding of Geology in North Staffordshire and beyond. From 1927 he taught at Wolstanton Grammar School for 40 years and began evening classes at “Stoke Tech” [now Staffordshire University], encouraging members to join the Geologists’ Association of London. Thus was born the NSGGA in 1948. In the 1950s and 60s he helped Keele University Postgraduate Certificate of Education students with a teaching methods course, joining the staff of the Education Department in 1967 on his retirement from teaching. Also in 1967, he was a Founding Father of the Association of Teachers of Geology that had its inaugural meeting at Keele, at which he was elected Treasurer, a post he held for 10 years. His daughter Ann has generously funded the John Myers Awards in his memory.